Technicolor to Offer Digital Delivery of Movies

Camarillo-based Technicolor said its alliance with Real Image Digital and its technology partner, Sarnoff Corp., will allow Technicolor to offer digital delivery of movies alongside its existing services.

Technicolor, which brought color to motion pictures 80 years ago, recently acquired a significant interest in Real Image Digital, a developer of digital cinema.

As part of the transaction, Technicolor is acquiring 49% of Real Image Technology by investing $23 million in cash, with a provision allowing it to acquire an additional interest in the future. Based on successful trials, Technicolor will invest another $60 million to develop the business.

Technicolor is a subsidiary of Carlton Communications Plc. It processes and develops film during production and then produces and distributes release prints direct to more than 34,000 cinema screens nationwide for studios such as Disney, Warner Brothers and DreamWorks SKG.

“We are taking Technicolor to the next stage of its development,” said Lanny Raimondo, Technicolor’s chief executive officer. “Just as we moved from film to video, and more recently from video to DVD, we are now ready to lead the evolution into digital distribution.”

Los Angeles-based Real Image is partnered with Sarnoff, a Princeton, N.J., research facility engaged in developing the compression technology critical to the electronic delivery of motion pictures.